Blue Ridge Mountains on 10-1-12

This morning Buddy left at 6AM to pick up and drive an Appalachian Trail hiker from one point to another up on the Blue Ridge Parkway. He took these photos with his wonderful waterproof/drop-proof Canon point and shoot. By the time he got home the rains had arrived and all had turned gray. His pictures were so pretty I just had to share them with all of you. This is the beginning of our fall in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday.

It’s Skywatch Friday and the Sky is Missing

Always before I have posted skies which were blue or blue with clouds.This day it was totally gray with no sky visible, and up there in the mountains you felt like you were in another time and place. The gray which usually is dull and not much to look at today took on a totally different aura. It was magical.

 Point of Departure up on the Blue Ridge Parkway ~ Rainy and Chilly

That pack was so heavy (30 lbs)...maybe because of all the rain gear, tent, food, etc. How he carries it I do not know. He only weighs 130 lbs. 

Amazing!

 Off He Goes

 Sometimes putting him on the trail is hard...especially when it is weather like this.

 Almost To the Trail

He turned around to give me that final wave.

My Last Shot~On the Trail

This post is linked with "Skywatch Friday.”

{In the Picture} ~ 52 IN 52 ~ Week 4

 Who is that mad woman behind the mask?

Why, it’s Genie on another “Forced March” through the icy woods. I am really NOT a grump. I laugh and have fun all the time. It is just HARD taking a picture of yourself with an iPhone in freezing weather.

This post is linked with the Flickr group {in the picture}.

Indian Rocks on Blue Ridge Parkway

Indian Gap

Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia

January 2, 1012

When you walk up the path , you have no idea of what is in store for yourself. There is a huge what seems like circular area of the biggest rocks I have ever seen. They would make a professional basketball player look like a short little child. Even if it did feel like 10 degrees below zero up there in the wind, it was worth the agony, and I cannot wait to return with our picnic basket, camera, and a quilt.  To me the rock all have Indian-like faces to them. Maybe that is how they became called Indian Rocks. Go to this site to see some photos of the area. The article says the origin of the name in unknown. 

http://www.cnyhiking.com/BRP-IndianGapTrail.htm

This post is linked with:

Mosaic Monday and Scenic Sunday

Bridge at Wigwam Falls

Last week I told of our freezing hike to Wigwam Falls where I chickened out and returned to the car. Workers with the  Blue Ridge Parkway have done much work here to help restore this section of the railroad track.

1.

Here are the steps you have to climb to get up to the old railroad tracks.

2.

Here I am in all of the gear which did NO good! 

3.

This is where you start walking across the bridge.

4.

This is the section over the water coming down from the falls.

5.

Here you have a view of the water coming down from the falls up above.

6.

Close-up of bridge section.

7.

This is my final shot taken looking down at the bridge just before 

I started back across it and to the warmth of the car.

This post is linked with Louis LaVache’s Sunday Bridges.

Taking’ a Hike by the Ice

Here are a couple more shots of our January 2, 2012, frigid hike up Wigwam Falls on the Blue Ridge Parkway. It was a “questionable" way to start the new year...hiking in 24 degree weather, way up high, and the wind blowing wildly. The water was flowing, but there was not nearly as much as there could of been if we had had more rain.

This post is linked with Watery Wednesday

and Black and White Wednesday.

First Hike of 2012 ~ Blue Ridge Parkway, Virginia

   Every year, either on the first or the second day of the new year, we try to go for a hike and look for letterboxes. Yesterday we did not make it, but today we did. It was terribly cold...24 degrees but with a wind chill that made it feel lots colder. The good news is we did fine one new letterbox.

We were on the Blue Ridge Parkway (3,140 feet above sea level) at Wigwam Falls. There you will see a sign,“Yankee Horse,” marking the location where a hard-riding Union man’s horse fell and had to be shot. When you go there, you can see a reconstructed spur of an old logging railroad. I had on long johns, turtle neck wool sweater, wool jacket with hoodie, fleece vest, a down jacket, face mask, hat, gloves, and a woolen scarf, and I still thought I was on Mt. Everest waiting to die. 

I wasn’t fooling about all the layers. Buddy was kind enough to take this ridiculous picture of me as proof of the “inclement” weather. It snowed on us all the way home, and there have been wrecks up and down the interstates tonight. Maybe our first day back to school will be delayed in the morning...only in my dreams!

HAPPY NEW YEAR FROM VIRGINIA

This post is linked with Our World Tuesday.

Daily Photo ~ Skywatch Friday ~ 6-10-11

Humpback Rocks

Blue Ridge Parkway near Waynesboro, VA
“A man who views the world the same at fifty as he did at twenty 
has wasted thirty years of his life.”
~Mohammad Ali


This post is linked with "Skywatch Friday,”

and 


"Shadow Shot Sunday.”

Skywatch Friday ~ 4-22-11

Humpback Rock Visitor’s Center ~ Blue Ridge Parkway in Virginia

"There are elements of intrinsic beauty in the simplification of a house built on the log cabin idea.”
~ Gustav Stickley
This post is linked to Skywatch Friday.

Daily Photo ~ 3-13-11

Surprise, Surprise

Daily Photo ~ 2-23-11

 Blue Ridge Parkway~Buena Vista, VA

Skywatch Friday ~ 2-11-11

Entrance to Blue Ridge Parkway from Route 60 ~ Buena Vista, VA

Overlook on Blue Ridge Parkway

The Road Less Traveled ~ Skis, People, & Animals

View of the Valley of Virginia from Blue Ridge Parkway

Stairway to the Clouds

Signs on the Blueridge Parkway ~ Buena Vista, VA

Weekend before last my husband and I went up on the Blue Ridge Parkway above Buena Vista, VA, the only hikers and skiers could gain access to the road. It was closed to all vehicles. The skies were magnificent and the snow was so beautiful. The only signs of life were the cross country ski tracks, Parkway truck, and the footprints of ourselves,bear, and deer. It was a fabulous afternoon. Here are just a few of the signs we passed along out way.

Be sure to check by "Signs Signs” sponsored by Lesley to see more interesting signage